19th February - Today's News: Cyclone Winston Hits Tonga Twice, Heads Towards Fuji

Fiji braces for cyclone Winston after Tonga hit twice

NOAA confirm that January 2016 brought record warm temperatures for the globe

Mystery black rain hits Michigan town

A video of the stunning 'ice stacks' of Lake Superior whilst from Australia, video footage shows a towering tornado rise from the dust under a clear blue sky ... It's a dust devil though, not a tornado!

In NZ, flash flood and logs trap Bay of Plenty couple in house

On Ben Nevis, ground search for missing climbers remains suspended due to bad weather - it's been a sad week for hillwalkers and climbers.   But such activities are still much safer than swimming in lakes, rivers and the sea ...   So if anyone suggests we should be banned from going on the hills in winter, or other such nonsense, just ask why, in that case, children aren't banned from going to the beach ...

Wintry blast rattles Spain and Portugal earlier this week

Drought ends in Brazil's Sao Paulo but future still uncertain

And apparently we are in for a right old heatwave this weekend, with temperatures four times hotter than usual .....    Hmmm, I hope not as that'd be over 1,000 degrees centigrade!  And in any case, whilst mild it also looks rather wet and windy.  So not exactly sunbathing weather, even for a salamander in spacesuit ....  The MetO summary for the Midlands paints a more accurate, but less bikini-inducing, picture: "Mild, damp and windy this weekend."